AllFreeNovel
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TryasImight, I can’t make sense of any of this. And when I say any of it, I mean just that. There are too many things that don’t add up.
“I think we need to tackle this one thing at a time,” Martin helpfully suggests.
CJ and I had only finished getting rid of Neil an hour before Kas called us, asking that we meet him and Baby at Martin’s place. Even though my brother wouldn’t tell us on the phone what it was about, his strained tone let me know how important it was.
Getting rid of Neil was a bigger job than I had thought. Since we know someone is keeping tabs on Baby, we couldn’t risk letting him walk out of our house.
“You’re going to what?”I hissed, shocked at CJ’s indifferent description of how to get Neil to the crematorium.
“Think, Alec. Since we don’t know how much we’re being watched, Dad can’t just pull up in his company vehicle. We can’t exactly carry Neil out in one piece, either. Unless you have any other suggestions, this is the only way.”
Since I didn’t have any other suggestions, I didn’t fight CJ on it. His reasoning was infallible. Instead, I followed him down to the basement.
“Well, well, well, it seems today is your lucky day,” CJ drawled as soon as Neil looked up at him. “Why is that?” my former boss asked, looking at my brother with suspicion in his eyes.
CJ made a big show of walking around the basement, moving random items around. “Because today is the day we set you free. We have no more use for you.” I couldn’t help snorting at his vague but accurate word choice.
“Is this true, Alec?” Neil asked me directly, hope palpable in his voice.
Rather than splitting hairs on the definition of being free, I easily agreed. “Sure is.”
“Normally, I would ask if you have any last words before you leave us.”CJ unceremoniously said. “With you, though, I don’t know if I could trust anything you say. Besides, I just don’t care enough to waste time listening. I hope you fucking burn in hell, you sick fuck.” With those words, CJ wrapped the shoelace in his hand tightly around Neil’s throat.
With his hands still chained, there wasn’t much he could do. That didn’t stop him from thrashing while his color changed, though.
Unable to look away from the gruesome scene in front of me, I watched for what felt like forever as the life drained from Neil’s eyes. I expected his death to make me feel something akin to satisfaction or revulsion, but it didn’t. All I felt was disappointment.
Some of it was caused by the fact that he got off lightly, but mainly the disappointment was caused because his death wasn’t the end to this madness.
In reality, it probably took less than five minutes before Neil was no more, yet it felt like an eternity passed before CJ released the shoelace, and the limp body sagged back against the wall.
Wasting no time, my brother grabbed his reciprocating saw from a bag he had stashed in the back of the basement. After I spread out the plastic tarp he handed me, CJ began cutting into Neil—chopping him into eight pieces so he fit into the waiting black containers.
Although I’ve known of my brother’s extracurriculars for years, it didn’t prepare me for watching him in action. While every disgusting sound made me cringe, he worked tirelessly—even making small talk and cracking a few jokes, all of which went unanswered.
“I’m almost done, Alec. Can you call Dad and let him know?”Glad for the excuse to have something to do, I called James and filled him in as vaguely as possible.
Then I sealed the containers and carried them upstairs, placing them near the front door on the tarp. While CJ hosed himself down in the basement, I brought him some clean clothes and wrapped up the tarp to be placed in the final container, along with anything Neil had touched.
“Let’s start with Lila’s missing finger.” As Kas’ voice brings me back to the present, I shake my head and look around.
We’re all sitting in Martin’s home, and I’m still unsure why.
“Just a few days after we receive a mystery package with pictures of Mia and a finger, we discover Lila is missing her ring finger. That can’t be a coincidence.” Although his voice sounds uncharacteristically indifferent, the fleeting look of panic in Kas’ eyes betrays him. “Ugh, this is too confusing. It feels like one of those chicken or egg moments, or like finding the beginning of a circle.”
Feeling as confused as I probably look, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“It’s all linked, Alec.” It’s Baby that answers me. “Kas is right. We can’t start at the beginning, since it’s all connected.”
“Is it?” CJ asks, taking the words right out of my mouth.
Both Kas and Baby nod eagerly, making me feel like I’m dumber than dirt since I can’t work out what they’ve apparently realized.
“What’s connected?” Martin asks.
“Enough!” Mia snaps, abruptly standing up from the red armchair she was sitting in. Her sudden movement accidentally knocks over Martin’s glass of whiskey, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “Why did you never tell me that you and Luis work together?” Her eyes are narrowed as she looks at Martin as though he’s the enemy rather than our fairy godfather, as Kas calls him.
“Mia, I don’t know who told you that, but I don’t work with Luis. Apart from seeing him a few times at Serendipity, I have had no interactions with him. All I know is that he was another of your regulars.”
